Loosely based on infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson, who in the early 1960s returned from ten years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy attempts to regain his piece of Harlem.
StatusReturning Series
TypeScripted
Original LanguageEnglish
Network
Season 1 of Godfather of Harlem premiered on September 29, 2019
Season 2 of Godfather of Harlem premiered on April 17, 2021
Season 2 finds Bumpy battling the New York Crime Families for control of the lucrative and murderous “French Connection,” the pipeline for heroin that runs from Marseilles to New York Harbor. With a distribution syndicate that includes black crime bosses from other major U.S. cities, Bumpy takes a cue from his friend Malcolm X’s message of black economic nationalism.
Season 3 of Godfather of Harlem premiered on January 15, 2023
Season Three finds Bumpy Johnson continuing to battle for control of Harlem, with other aspirants to the throne, namely the Cuban Mafia from neighboring Spanish Harlem. Taking on the Cuban mob puts Bumpy, his loved ones, and his community in the crosshairs of not only the rival Italians, but ruthless Latin assassins and, ultimately, the CIA.
Season 4 of Godfather of Harlem premiered on April 13, 2025
In season 4, Bumpy Johnson continues his bloody war for control of Harlem against New York's Mafia families, while contending with the arrival of gangster Frank Lucas. After Malcolm X's tragic assassination, Bumpy must also grapple with his daughter Elise's involvement with the Black Panthers.
Forest Whitaker
Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson
Erik LaRay Harvey
Delbert C. 'Del' Chance
Ilfenesh Hadera
Mayme Johnson
Antoinette Crowe-Legacy
Elise Johnson
Lucy Fry
Stella Gigante
Michael Raymond-James
Joe Colombo